Alumni

Category: District

Retired astronaut Robert (Bob) Behnken, Class of 1988, received the Congressional Space Medal of Honor from vice president Kamala Harris on Jan. 31. Behnken received the award for bravery in NASA’s SpaceX Demonstration Mission-2 (Demo-2) to the International Space Station in 2020. On May 30, 2020, a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket carrying the company’s Crew Dragon spacecraft launched to the space station, marking the first mission to launch with astronauts as part of NASA’s Commercial Crew Program. As a space station crew member for 62 days, Behnken performed four spacewalks with former NASA astronaut Chris Cassidy and contributed more than 100 hours to the orbiting laboratory’s scientific investigations. Behnken received the honor along with former astronaut Douglas Hurley. They are the first honorees since 2006 to receive this honor. 

Category: District

A 1984 Pattonville High School graduate has been the MVP — Most Valuable Painter — for the St. Louis Cardinals this year. Patrick Barrett became the painter foreman in November 2018 after working seasonally for 12 years with the team. His rookie season was during high school when he worked on the grounds crew while his father was employed as a seasonal painter. 

“What makes my job cool is I get to paint everything at Busch Stadium from the front offices to the dugout to the bullpen and the concourse areas,” he said. “I could also be out in the parking lot painting stripes or painting Yadier Molina’s catcher’s mask.”

Molina debuted a hockey style catcher's mask on Aug. 26 that featured a yellow face shield.

“The guys in the clubhouse sent me a picture of the mask and asked if I could paint it for him,” Barrett said. “The shield was blue to start with, so after picking the color yellow he wanted, I lightly scuffed the paint, primed it and then put about four coats of the yellow paint on.”

Category: District

Dr. Jeremy Mapp, Class of 2006 - Mapp was selected to serve as the commencement speaker for his alma mater, Truman State University, when it held its commencement ceremonies in November. He earned a bachelor’s degree in psychology and master’s degree in education from Truman and his doctorate in educational leadership from Maryville University.

Category: Alumni
Col. Robert Behnken, Class of 1988 - Behnken and fellow NASA astronaut Doug Hurley flew on Crew Dragon for the SpaceX Demo-2 mission to the International Space Station on May 30th. This was the first mission to launch NASA astronauts to orbit from the United States in nearly a decade.
 

Category: District

Thomas McFarland was named the 2020 High School Band Directors National Association (HSBDNA) National Marching Band Student of the Year. The Class of 2020 alumnus was also a finalist for the National Concert Band Student of the Year.

McFarland is currently attending Missouri State University and is a member of the drumline for the Pride Marching Band and plays vibraphone in a jazz combo. He is pursuing a degree in physical therapy.